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A−History
History · Rockville Centre

Rockville Centre’s post office opened in 1849, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #412 of 758 in New York. What drives it

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.

1849first post office
1on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
44famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rockville Centre’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Rockville Centre began

When was Rockville Centre founded?

1849

The Rockville Centre post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1893.

First census: 1,882 in 18802020 census: 26,016177 years

How historic is Rockville Centre?

A−

More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Rockville Centre post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1893.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Rockville Centre’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rockville Centre is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #412 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rockville Centre’s overall grade.
Founding era1849, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194043.5% of homes (±3.1) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 0.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 46%

New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rockville Centre’s 0.4 sits below most of its state (21% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1893.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Rockville Centre’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 18975 editions of the USGS map, 1897 to 1969. Watch Rockville Centre change.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1873–1957.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1892 to 1919, drew every building in Rockville Centre.Famous sons and daughtersMatt Reeves, June Diane Raphael and 42 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the map

Rockville Centre on the map, 1897 to 1969

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rockville Centre. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Rockville Centre on the 1897 USGS mapRockville Centre on the 1903 USGS mapRockville Centre on the 1947 USGS mapRockville Centre on the 1954 USGS mapRockville Centre on the 1969 USGS map1897Hempstead sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rockville Centre.

By decade

Rockville Centre, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s3 items
South part of Hempstead, Queens Co. L.I1873South part of Hempstead, Queens Co. L.IMapHempstead, Town of Hempstead, Queens Co. L.I. - Rockville Center, Hempstead Town, Queens Co. - Pearsalls, Hempstead Tow…1873Hempstead, Town of Hempstead, Queens Co. L.I. - Rockv…Map1873 Beers Map of the Towns of Hempstead, RockvilleCenter Long Island, New York - Geographicus - HempsteadRockville-bee…18731873 Beers Map of the Towns of Hempstead, RockvilleCe…Map
1930s–1940s7 items
Party & barter - benefit Nassau art teachers scholarship fund1939Party & barter - benefit Nassau art teachers scholars…Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. LOC gsc.5a122501945Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockvil…Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. LOC gsc.5a122501945Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockvil…Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. LOC gsc.5a122511945Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockvil…Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. LOC gsc.5a122511945Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockvil…Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. LOC gsc.5a122521945Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockvil…Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. LOC gsc.5a122521945Jesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockvil…
1950s8 items
Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., Rockville Centre. LOC gsc.5a249901957Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., …Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., Rockville Centre. LOC gsc.5a249901957Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., …Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., Rockville Centre. LOC gsc.5a249911957Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., …Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., Rockville Centre. LOC gsc.5a249911957Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., …Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., Rockville Centre. LOC gsc.5a249921957Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., …Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., Rockville Centre. LOC gsc.5a249921957Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., …Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., Rockville Centre. LOC gsc.5a249931957Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., …Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., Rockville Centre. LOC gsc.5a249931957Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., …
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Every building

Rockville Centre, building by building, 1892–1919

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Rockville Centre fire insurance map, 1892, sheet 11892Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Rockville Centre came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rockville Centre.

Read it all →

The site of Rockville Centre has been occupied by humans for thousands of years. Generally speaking, the people of the prehistoric Woodlands period East River culture are believed to have been the Algonkian-speaking ancestors of the historical Indian tribes of western Long Island. The historical territory of their Lenape descendants, the Canarsie, Recouwacky (Rockaway), Matinecock and Massapequa, included present-day western Long Island's Queens and Nassau Counties.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rockville Centre, 1873 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873In the archiveSouth part of Hempstead, Queens Co. L.I
  3. 1897On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1939In the archiveParty & barter - benefit Nassau art teachers scholarship fund
  6. 1945In the archiveJesse Henshel, residence at 345 De Mott Ave., Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. LO…
  7. 1957In the archiveMr. and Mrs. Gustav Jaff, residence on Atkinson Rd., Rockville Centre. LOC gsc.5a24990
  8. 1965Born hereBilly Donovan is born here
  9. 1966Born hereMatt Reeves is born here
  10. 1970Born hereAmy Hargreaves is born here
  11. 1980Born hereJune Diane Raphael is born here
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Party & barter - benefit Nassau art teachers scholarship fund
Retake this viewParty & barter - benefit Nassau art teachers scholarship fund, 1939

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Rockville Centre’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Rockville Centre

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Rockville Centre, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 27,444

Between 1,882 and 27,444 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rockville Centre’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

44 famous people were born in Rockville Centre

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Matt ReevesAmerican film writer, director and producer · b. 1966
June Diane RaphaelAmerican actress, comedian, and screenwriter · b. 1980
A
Amy HargreavesAmerican actress · b. 1970
Billy DonovanAmerican basketball coach · b. 1965
Alan BlumenfeldAmerican actor · b. 1952
Elliott MurphyAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1949
Help out

Finish Rockville Centre’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewParty & barter - benefit Nassau art tea…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Baldwin1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLakeviewIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSouth HempsteadIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOceansideIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLynbrook4 historic placesB+East Rockaway2 historic placesB+

Questions about Rockville Centre’s history

What year was Rockville Centre founded?

The Rockville Centre post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1893.

How does Rockville Centre rank for history?

Rockville Centre is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #412 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Rockville Centre?

44% of Rockville Centre’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1945.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.